A Missouri teen donated his kidney to his mom with a rare condition.
The mom, Kebra Peebles, already had a kidney transplant 14 years ago. However, she had to undergo dialysis again due to complications. This situation led to her son, Kendal Henderson, deciding to donate his kidney.
The mom's rare condition
The Missouri mom has been undergoing dialysis at SSM JHealth Saint Louis University Hospital. In that same hospital, Kebra received both of her kidney transplants.
According to a report by the KTVI, Kebra's condition is rare, that doctors did not even think she could survive giving birth. However, Kebra did not want to terminate her two pregnancies. This decision was something that Kebra would surely not regret because her son decided to donate his kidney to save his mom years after giving birth.
The kidney transplant
According to the Missouri teen, seeing his mom suffer from dialysis every day was difficult for him, especially when Kebra started to have complications. Peebles shared, "I started having complications, but it gave me 14 years (the first transplant) of a wonderful life."
That is why when the Missouri teen reached 18 years old; he started thinking of donating his kidney to save his mom.
The thought of Kendall donating his kidney was something that Kebra objected to at first. The Missouri mom said, "I was against it because he's my son, and he's my baby."
However, the Missouri teen continued to convince his mom to the idea of having another kidney transplant. Kendall's reason was, "Seeing her cry every day, and I just couldn't see her like that."
Thankful to Missouri teen's kindness
After undergoing her second transplant, Kebra feels like a new person. She said, "I feel great now."
Because it was her son who donated the kidney, the Missouri mom is very thankful for him. She said, "I would just like to publicly thank my son for giving me life."
Kidney transplants in the United States
According to one of the kidney doctors at SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital, Dr. Krista Lentine, having living donors give better outcomes for patients. Dr. Lentine said, "Living donors can help bridge the gap between the need for organs and the organ supply."
In the U.S., more than 91,000 people need kidney transplants. In Missouri, around 1,400 are still hoping to find their kidney donors.
For the Missouri teen, he would like other people to learn more about becoming a donor. He said, "Try to get more information."
Dr. Lentine added that there is a federal program that reduces the financial difficulties to the living donors. The doctor also encourages those who would like to understand the process further to visit their website.
